Therapeutic apparatus



United States Patent THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS William Hohman, Sarasota, Fla.

Application January 19, 1956, Serial No. 560,135

2 Claims. (Cl. 4178) This invention relates to a bathing machine or apparatus, and more particularly to a therapeutic apparatus for use in treating persons who are ill or sick.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is adapted to .support a person therein whereby suitable fluid such as warm or hot water will be circulated throughout the apparatus to thereby exert a soothing and healing eifect on the patient or user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a therapeutic bathing apparatus which includes a support member that is resiliently supported and wherein there is provided a means for vibrating the support member and there is also provided a means for causing a plurality of streams of warm water to be inserted or projected from a plurality of different directions whereby the entire surface or area of a persons body using the device of the present invention will be subjected to the beneficial action of the vibrations and warm circulating water.

A further object of the invention is to provide a therapeutic bathing apparatus which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same.

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the therapeutic bathing apparatus, with parts broken away and in sections.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of the therapeutic bathing apparatus.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral designates a hollow housing which may be made of any suitable material, and the housing 10 has its upper end opened so that the person can climb therein. The housing 10 includes spaced parallel vertically disposed end walls 11, and spaced parallel vertically disposed side walls 12 and a horizontally disposed bottom wall 13.

Arranged within the housing 10 is a rectangular support member 14 which is adapted to support the user or patient, and the support member 14 may be made of any suitable material and may include a plurality of spaced parallel transverse strips 15 and a plurality of spaced parallel longitudinally extending strips 16. For supporting the member 14, a plurality of spring members 17 may be provided, and the spring members 17 may be secured to the inner surfaces of the walls of the housing 10 and to the outer edges of the support member 14 in any suitable manner.

Arranged within the housing 10 is a pair of spaced parallel superimposed body members 18 which are arranged above and below the support member 14. The body members 18 may be made of tubular material such as pipes, and the body members 18 are adapted to have water circulate therethrough. The body member 18 may include side portions 19 and an end portion 20.

For circulating water through thebody members 18, a pump 21 is connected to the body members through 2,793,372 Patented May 28, 1957 the medium of conduits 22, and dogs 23 are provided for controlling the flow of water through the conduits. Apertures or openings 24 are provided in the body members for the passage therethrough of water. There is further provided a drain pipe 25 which has a valve 26. A motor 27 operates a shaft 28 for vibrating the support member 14.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a therapeutic bathing apparatus which will permit a person to lie on the support member 14. The support member 14 is positioned within the housing 10, and the housing 10 may be supported by legs 29. The motor 27 can be actuated so as to cause the shaft 28 to move whereby the support member 14 will be vibrated so that the person lying on the support member 14 will be moved soothingly through the water in the housing 10. At the same time, the pump 21 will pump water through the conduit 22 and this water will flow through the pair of body members 18. Some of the water will issue or be discharged out through the apertures 24 and this water will strike the person lying on the support member 14 so as to create a healing and soothing effect on the patient. Due to the provision of the pair of body members 18 arranged above and below the support member 14, the issuing water streams or sprays will contact all parts of the patients body so that as the patient is positioned in the apparatus, there will be the combination of the vibratory effect created by the moving support member 14 together with the jet sprays. Thus, the patient will get the benefit of the beneficial vibrations and circulating water. Suitable heating elements 30 which may be of conventional construction and which may be connected to a suitable source of electrical energy, are positioned in the housing 10, and the heating elements 30 may be provided for maintaining the temperature of the water in the housing 10 at the desired temperature. The springs 17 provide a resilient connection for the vibratory support member 14. The valves such as the valves 23 and 26 can be manually regulated in order to properly control the flow of water therethrough.

The apparatus of the present invention can be used to help persons sufiering from various ailments or diseases such as arthritis, stifiness, bone trouble and the like. With the present invention, the entire body is immersed in the water and the streams of water issue from a plurality of diflerent directions so that the entire body is treated. A rheostat can be used for controlling the temperature of the water.

I claim:

1. In a therapeutic bathing apparatus, a hollow housing having its top open, said housing including a pair of spaced parallel vertically disposed end walls and spaced parallel vertically disposed side walls, and a horizontally disposed bottom wall, a plurality of vertically disposed legs for supporting said housing, a horizontally disposed rectangular support member arranged in said housing, a plurality of spaced parallel spring members extending between said support member and said housing, said support member being arranged above said bottom wall, and first and second body members arranged in said housing for the passage therethrough of fluid, one of said body members being arranged above said support member and the other of said body members being arranged below said support member, there being a plurality of spaced-apart apertures in said body members for the passage therethrough of fluid, and means for introducing fluid into said body members, said means comprising a pump arranged exteriorly of said housing, conduits connecting said pump to said body members, and manually operable valves in said conduits, heating elements arranged in said housing and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical energy, a drain pipe connected to the bottom of said housing, a manually operable valve arranged in said drain pipe, a shaft connected to said support member for vibrating said support member, a motor for operating said shaft, said support member, including a plurality of spaced-apart longitudinally extending and transverse extending members.

2. In a therapeutic bathing apparatus, a hollow housing having its top open, said housing including a pair of end Walls and side walls, and a bottom wall, a plurality of legs for supporting said housing, a support member arranged in said housing, a plurality of spring members extending between said support member and said housing, said support member being arranged above said bottom wall, first and second body members arranged in said housing for the passage therethrough of fluid, one of said body members being arranged above said support member and the other of said body members being arranged below said support member, there being spaced apart apertures in said body members for the passage therethrough of fluid, means for introducing fluid into said body members, said means comprising a pump arranged exteriorly of said housing, conduits connecting said pump to said body members, manually operable valves in said conduits, heating elements arranged in said housing and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical energy, a drain pipe connected to the bottom of said housing, a valve arranged in said drain pipe, a shaft connected to said support member for vibrating said support member, and a motor for operating said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 511,008 Blunt Dec. 19, 1893 l,855,114 Pavlov Apr. 19, 1932 1,896,938 Borowsky Feb. 7, 1933 2,713,174 Merlin July 19, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 105,590 Great Britain Apr. 16, 1917 

